


Roadtrip down Memory Lane

by moonlight_petal



Series: Come to the West Coast [1]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Bozer learns a lot about his family, Childhood Memories, Comfort, F/M, Feels, Fluff, Gen, Jack and the kids, Jack is romantic, Memories, Minor Character Death, Papa Jack, Roadtrip, Team as Family, bidding farewell to old friends, surrogate grandparents, surrogate parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 23:24:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18041075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlight_petal/pseuds/moonlight_petal
Summary: When Riley gets a phone call bearing sad news she's not able to hide from her family, it's up to them to offer comfort and support. That support results in a family cross-country roadtrip and many shared stories.





	Roadtrip down Memory Lane

**Author's Note:**

> I still fail at summaries. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy this and I'm always happy to hear your thoughts.  
> Also, I have a few ideas still rattling in my head but if there is something you'd like to read, I'm open for suggestions. I can't make promises as to if or when but yeah, let me know.
> 
> Oh, one last thing, this story was mostly written with the 'My Girl 2' OST on repeat, so I'd like to recommend that one from the heart.

** Roadtrip down Memory Lane **

 

"...and I'm awaiting clearance from Oversight on this for now, until then... oh Riley, how nice of you to finally join us!" Matty Webber interrupted herself to level a disappointed look at their resident hacker and computer expert.

 

"Yeah... sorry, Matty, won't happen again... something came up..." the young woman replied distractedly, taking her seat at the back of the war room, out of the way of the remaining members of her team. "What did I miss?"

 

Mac and Jack shared a quick glance, turning around to look at their friend questioningly while Bozer looked openly concerned. It wasn't like Riley to come in late. To be late *and* rather dismissive of their director, that was outright weird, she had nothing but respect for their boss after all.

 

The blond tilted his head to the side.

"Matty was just saying that after our last mission overseas turned out to be a bit of an international incident, Oversight has some explaining to do with the government and before that's not done, Phoenix is grounded on US soil. No missions outside the US. That's what you wanted to say just now, isn't it Matty?" Mac looked at the woman, who nodded.

 

"That's it essentially, yeah. Thanks for this very on point summary, blondie."

 

Riley had her eyes directed on the table in front of her but looked up with a frown.

"But that was hardly our fault, it's not like we meant for this to happen..." she began.

 

"Don't sweat it, kiddo, it's not the first time something like this happened, it's simply protocol in these situations. Similar to certain investigations after kill shots in the force, just on a higher political level..." Jack explained, watching her closely, saw her shoulders slump again after his words, noticed the shadows under her slightly reddened eyes, the very faint tremor of her fingers when she pushed her hair behind her ear again.

 

"Are you alright, Riles?" Mac asked, beating Jack to the question after he noticed the same things about her whole posture.

 

She looked up at that again, eyes wide but tired.

"Huh? Ah yeah, yeah... fine... does that mean we don't have to go on a mission?" she directed that question at Matty and not one of the other people present missed the hopeful edge to her words.

 

The director hesitated for a moment, choosing her words.

"Well... we're only restricted of leaving the country, should there something come up in the US, we will still take the call. As of right now, however, there is no information on a new mission, no."

 

Riley thought about that for a moment, anxiously playing with the black leather band around her neck. She licked her lips, looked from Bozer, to Mac and then Jack at last.

"In that case, could I... would it be possible to take a couple of days of personal leave? I mean if you don't necessarily need me around anyway."

 

Her words triggered a blur of action and she had anticipated exactly that. Mac had sat up in his chair, face questioning but with concern shimmering in his blue eyes. Bozer had come to his feet, face morphed from concern to outright worry. Jack, though, -and Riley really shouldn't have expected any less of the man who was like a father for her- he had literally jumped at her inquiry. He was off the couch and right in front of her in three steps only.

 

"Riles..." his voice was soft, careful, almost fearful at what might be happening in his girl's life right then. What might have already happened without him noticing once again. Riley knew he still blamed himself for not noticing earlier that something had been up when her mother had been taken the second time and she had tried to take care of it alone. "What's going on, sweetheart?"

 

And it was his gentle voice that broke her carefully constructed but barely holding walls already, as he took her cold, trembling hands in his own warm ones.

"It's... nothing, if anything it's stupid really..." she tried but her slightly choked voice betrayed her words.

 

The hacker barely noticed how Mac, Bozer and Matty had joined Jack and her, her team, her family genuinely concerned by now.

A gentle squeeze of her hands was all it took.

 

Riley took a deep shuddering breath, looked up again before she began.

"Alright... it's... something happened last night, but it's nothing dangerous or bad or anything, no need to worry. I've learned from my mistakes." she said.

 

On the one hand it was a relief to her friends but on the other it really wasn't because if it had nothing to do with their job, then it was something personal. Other than the present people, as far as they knew, Riley only had her mum still (well and Elwood but for some reason neither of them expected such a rattled reaction if it had something to do with him), so if something had happened to her... well, neither of them wanted to imagine it.

 

"Is Diane..." Jack started, his worry even more prominent in those two words now.

 

"No, Jack, mum's okay, it's got nothing to do with her. It's... let me explain from the start alright?" She looked imploringly at the older man until he nodded.

 

"Alright... do you remember Alexander Orlov?" she asked, looking at Mac and Jack.

 

"Old, Russian dude?" Jack asked, confused as to where this was going.

 

"Yeah, the Russian scientist who helped us with that nuclear bomb, right?" Mac nodded at the same time.

 

"May I interject? Who is that guy and what nuclear bomb?" Bozer asked curious. He never heared about that before.

 

"Ah right, you weren't in the know yet when that happened and Matty wasn't around either." Jack said, surprised by the question at first.

 

"Yeah but just because I wasn't around, doesn't mean I don't know the case file. Long story short, those three were sent to recover and disarm an old Soviet warhead, stolen by someone who wanted to start the Cold War all over again. They needed specific information to do that and basically enlisted the help of two KGB defectors who worked on the program back then. One of them died in the cross fire, the other returned back to his home for the elderly." Matty summarized that mission for Bozer quickly. "What about him, Riley?"

 

"Yes, that's about it. You should have seen those two, Bozer, they were like Mac and Jack in old, think Waldorf and Statler, it was funny but also kind of disconcerting." Riley added with a small grin and a bit of a far-away look in her eyes. "Anyway, I liked the man, he was really smart and actually fun to talk to. When we dropped him off, he seemed so resigned with the life he was living plus he just lost his best friend -even if they had spent years not speaking to each other before, that didn't matter- but I digress, we dropped him off and we bonded over 'The Prize is Right' if you believe it. I stayed in contact with him afterwards. We were e-mailing, texting, talking on the phone quite regularly ever since, he was pretty tech-savvy for an old man. The thing you have to understand is, I never really had much in the way of grandparents, I'm sure they were around somewhere but I never had any relationship with them and he didn't have any family at all. So with time he kind of turned into a friend/adopted grandfather for me. Even the nurses at his home called me his granddaughter at some point, he never bothered to correct them... I knew he was more tired than usual the last few weeks but I didn't really think much of it, I mean, he was old... last night the night nurse called me... apparently the old man signed me in as next of kin without telling me... and she told me that..." Riley broke off, needing a few seconds to will her tears down long enough to finish this. She didn't have to look at her family around her to know that they were looking at her with sadness and sympathy, at this point it was quite obvious where this was headed.

 

Jack's grip on her hands tightened a little more and she was glad for the grounding he provided her with it, while Mac gently placed a hand on her shoulder, a gesture of silent support of the two people who actually had met the man.

 

"She told me that he passed away just before. Apparently he got a bad cold that he couldn't shake and that took his last energy in the end. She informed me that he wrote his will and that everything had already been arranged and paid for for his funeral. It will take place on Friday afternoon. She also said that Alexander left a box with my name on for me. So... if we don't have any missions..." the young woman looked at her boss.

 

"Go! Even if we had a mission, Riley... if that's where you want to be, go! I'll take care of things here." Matty interrupted her, knowing what Riley wanted to ask.

 

As one, Jack and Mac's heads turned in her direction.

"Don't look at me, of course you are free to go as well. You too, Bozer." she smiled at the grateful smiles on the three men's faces.

 

"Guys, you don't..." Riley began.

 

"Zip it, kiddo. We knew the man, he did us and our country a huge favour, the least we can do is pay him our last respects. And even if we didn't know him..." Jack caught Bozer's eyes for a second. "... we're family, he was important to you, so we'll be there for you, Riley! Come here, sweetheart!" he ended his statement and came out of his kneeling position in a fluid move, pulling Riley to her feet as well and engulfed her in a tight and warm embrace. The young woman froze for just a second, overwhelmed by everything, before she melted in Jack's embrace, softly sobbing on his shoulder.

 

~*~

 

If they had asked, Matty probably would have sanctioned the use of the Phoenix jet for the journey to Springfield, Virginia but they didn't want that.

 

Riley, after they returned to Mac and Bozer's house, admitted silently that she didn't want to be alone in her apartment and Jack quickly assured her that she didn't have to. They still had more than two and a half days until the funeral and just like that the idea of a roadtrip was born. Riley had some time to prepare herself for that final good-bye with her family close by that way and it wasn't like Jack didn't genuinely love roadtrips.

 

That's how they found themselves in a sleek black truck before sunrise the next day. Jack had offered his car but Mac had reasoned that should Matty call them in at some point and they needed to leave immediately with a plane, it would be easier to take a rental car that could be returned anywhere.

Bozer had taken care of provisions so they all knew they wouldn't go hungry at any point of this journey even without the breaks they actually had roughly planned out.

 

The first three hours of the trip were spent mostly in silence. The radio was softly playing in the background, a classic rock station they had agreed on quickly.

 

Jack easily navigated the streets of LA and then on the Interstate that would take them to Springfield in a semi straight line while Mac leaned back in the passenger seat with a cup of coffee, content to watch the scenery around.

 

The young hacker curled up in the backseat, head resting on Bozer's shoulder and fell asleep quickly with Bozer carding his fingers soothingly through her long locks, keeping watch over his friend.

 

"How about breakfast?" Bozer asked when the clock approached nine in the morning. They hadn't really made much of a dent in their 39 hour drive yet but neither of them really had been able to stomache food when they started the journey. Riley had woken up a little while before so he finally posed the question.

 

"Hm... I could eat..." Jack nodded, glancing at the two young agents in the backseat in the rearview mirror. "Do you want to make a picnic or are we stopping at a diner?"

 

Mac smirked.

"Well I know which option you prefer but I'm fine either way, whatever the majority wants." Jack loved Bozer's food, no question there but Mac knew that Jack was a sucker for greasy diner breakfast and enjoyed it whenever they could.

 

"I vote diner, I feel like I could eat like twenty pancakes right now... and I could use the little girls room..." she said, voice still a little raspy from sleep.

 

"Well, the diner it is then... how far out are we, Jack?" Bozer grinned, happy at the prospect of Riley eating since she had only picked at her food the day before.

 

"About fifteen minutes I'd say, we passed a sign a few miles back..." the oldest informed them with pleasant anticipation in his voice.

 

The place they stopped at not long after looked like the average roadside diner one could find all over the country. Mac and Jack had argued about that at some point earlier in their work together with the DXS. The younger had said that the similarity was just due to effectiveness. Someone had thought about how to strategically place tables and everything for maximum space use with minimal work force since you rarely saw more than two waitresses at a time around.

 

Jack had shaken his head in fond exasperation back then and explained to Mac that that might all be true, he wouldn't deny that, but that the main reason was the 'homey atmosphere'. _'Think about it, Mac. Who visits diners like this out here? People who live far away from home, people earning their money driving all over the place instead of spending it with their family. Diners like this one are safe havens for all of them. The familiarity reminds them of home and cures the homesickness for the next stretch they have to go.'_

 

Over time Mac had to admit how right Jack had been with this assessment. In the diner they settled in now, on their trip over the country to accompany one of their own in a time of need, it rang true even more.

 

 It didn't take all that long for their food to arrive after they had ordered.

"Man, I sure like my food and all but all this grease and cholesterol will kill you one day, Jack." Bozer commented, looking at the serving of eggs, bacon, sausages and so on that Jack had indulged in.

 

The older just laughed.

"Well Bozer, I like to enjoy the simple things in life and seriously, if in our line of work it's the cholesterol that gets me in the end so be it." he said, popping a piece of crispy bacon in his mouth to prove a point.

 

He had a point there, Mac thought with a shrug and dug in his own breakfast, a soft smile on his lips as he watched Riley dig in her own pancakes with the glee of a small kid. This whole situation brought out a very human and emotional side in the young woman they only rarely got to see. Riley, like he himself, kept her thoughts and feelings pretty close to the chest normally in contrary to Bozer and Jack who wore their hearts on their sleeves, in front of their family at least.

 

Silence settled over them for a moment before Jack suddenly perked up next to Mac, sitting up, tilting his head to the side.

"Jack? What is it?" the blond asked, quickly looking around the diner to find the source for Jack's sudden attention.

 

A broad smile stretched the oldest's lips in response, an almost imperceptible shake of his head letting Mac know that everything was alright while his eyes rested on Riley.

 

"Well now, that one brings back memories, eh?" he said softly.

 

Riley looked up a little startled at being addressed, confusion lasting only a moment on her face when realisation flooded her eyes.

 

"You remember?" she asked.

 

"Of course, sweetheart, how could I ever forget? It might be one of my favourite memories..." Jack replied and there was so much love in his voice that it made Mac feel almost choked up next to him without even knowing what they were talking about.

 

"What?" Bozer asked, looking between Jack and Riley, searching for answers.

 

"The song, Boze..." the older said, gesturing upwards at the speaker where the music was coming from.

 

"Yeah? It's nice, old though... but I'm sure I heard it before, what about it?" Bozer didn't get the significance. Mac didn't either but he wasn't about to reveal that just yet.

 

"It's 'Baby Love' by _The Supremes_. It's my mum's favourite song. She loves everything by them but 'Baby Love' has been her favourite for as long as I can remember. She used to sing it to me all the time even if the lyrics are kind of sad. When she tucked me into bed when I was little and later on whenever she felt like it. Things might have been difficult... even bad at times but whenever my mum sang this song I knew things were going to be okay, funny enough." Riley told them, a fond smile on her lips as she recalled that piece of her childhood.

 

Jack shared the fond expression, eyes directed on his food but Mac was certain that his partner was some place different in his head, some time in the past.

"And boy, Diane could sing... that woman could have easily been part of _The Supremes_ herself, it was always such a pleasure to listen to. And Riley certainly got that talent of her mum even if she doesn't show it..." he said. "I remember one night... I got home a little earlier than expected and the two of them were in the kitchen... twelve year old Riley sitting on the table while Diane was making -what was it, I think it actually was pancakes because you wanted them so badly and had been asking for them for days before already- yeah, she was making pancakes for dinner, because why not... she was dancing around the kitchen and singing along to 'Baby Love' in a sweet duet together with Riley... it was the cutest thing and to this day I feel blessed to have witnessed it..." he finished his own recollection.

 

Riley stared at her friend and father figure.

"Seriously? I never knew you were there..." she said, surprise colouring her voice after all this time.

 

Jack chuckled.

"Neither of you did, spy remember? Since I was early I snuck in through the back door to surprise you and stayed outside in the hall, watched you through the half open kitchen door, out of sight for you two but I had the perfect view."

 

"If that story wasn't so heart-warming and sweet, I'd call you a major creeper, Jack!" Bozer huffed shaking his head at the older man.

 

"That really is a sweet memory..." Mac smiled. From the day Riley had first entered his life and Jack had mentioned Diane and their relationship back then, he had known that this had been a special one, probably the only one that might have had the power to help Jack get over Sarah once and for all. He really would have wished that it had worked out for his friend. Jack deserved to be happy. On the other hand if things between Jack and Diane had worked out despite his work for the CIA and the lies between them, Mac never would have met Jack and that was something Mac couldn't imagine anymore.

 

"You do know what that means, though, right?" Bozer said, bumping his shoulder gently against Riley's.

 

"What..." she asked, forehead pulled into a deep frown.

 

"The next time we have a karaoke night, you have no excuse anymore, you *will* sing with us!" Bozer stated, a bright grin on his lips but his voice brooked no argument.

 

Riley blinked, then scowled.

"Right, perfect... thanks for blowing my cover, Jack..."

 

The oldest laughed at that.

"Sorry sweetheart, I didn't think about that..." he didn't really sound apologetic though, Jack had tried to get Riley to sing with them for a while after all.

 

"You know..." Riley had just finished her last bite of the pancakes, her features softened again. "That story reminds me of one of my own... in hindsight, maybe I should have realised that my future lies in the spy business then..." she grinned at Jack.

 

"Now that sounds interesting, care to share that story with us?" Mac asked, a teasing glance directed at his partner who obviously tried to work out what Riley might be referring to.

 

"Well... if you're expecting an embarrassing story, I'll have to disappoint you, Mac. It's actually... quite sweet as well... more importantly it might just have been the pivotal moment when I decided to give Jack a real chance, to accept him as part of our life and stop being so difficult on purpose until... well... until everything changed and went down the drain anyway..." she sighed, lost in thought for a moment.

 

Mac noticed the flash of hurt and regret on Jack's face at her words. Gently he rubbed small, soothing circles on the back of Jack's shoulder, out of sight of Riley and Bozer. A quick, grateful glance was all Mac got, telling him that Jack understood what he was doing and he appreciated it.

 

"So what's the story? I admit I'm kind of curious what changed your mind..." Bozer asked. Jack wondered the same thing, he never really had understood Riley's change in behaviour from one day to the next but never dared to ask.

 

"Well... you have to know that when Jack and my mum started dating... it was difficult for us for a little while, never outright *bad* but... money was on the tight side because mum had some trouble at work, never really figured out what exactly the problem was but she regularly got home exhausted and in a generally bad mood. I tried to cheer her up but... well as you have probably gathered from one or the other story Jack told before, I was a troublesome teen... anyway... that night instead of cheering her up, I ended up fighting with my mum about something that happened at school and that had led to me bringing home yet another note she had to sign... we fought and I stomped off and slammed my door like the child I had been. I sat in my room, pissed off and hungry because of course all that happened before dinner like every teenage drama chliché. Time passed, I didn't even hear Jack arrive but at one point I decided to fuck it and sneak into the kitchen to at least grab a snack or something. I had to pass the living room door on my way to the kitchen but stopped right outside when I heared my mum laugh, it was soft and silent but it was the first real laugh I had heared for a while then, so I looked inside... Jack was holding my mum in his arms, there was a candle on the table and a beautiful dark red rose. He was swaying them from side to side which apparently had already been the reason my mum had been laughing so happily but then the music in the background changed songs and... I listened to Jack serenade my mum with so much love in his voice and it sounded so nice... that's when I decided that if this guy was able to make my mum *that* happy that I really shouldn't try to come between them but encourage them..."

 

Jack looked a little dumbstruck at Riley's words but there was so much warmth shining in his eyes.

"I remember that night... Diane and I had been texting for a little bit that evening, she didn't mention it but I just knew that something had happened, that she wasn't feeling well. I had been stuck in a debrief all day already and had been about ready to bolt for a while as well, so when I knew all the important things had been talked about I did just that, got me in the doghouse with my boss in the process but it was worth it. That flower shop was on my way to the house... I can still see how Diane's eyes lit up when I presented her with that rose..." he reminisced his side of the memory. "She told me about what had happened at work and then the fight she had with Riley and I tried my best to make it right for her again. Sometimes distraction is the best solution hence what you apparently have seen, Riles."

 

"What song did you sing?" Bozer asked curiously.

 

"'My Girl'..." Riley smiled.

"Yeah that by _The Temptations_. I don't know, it came on and I've always felt it fit, so that happened..." Jack nodded.

 

Mac grinned at that story. He'd always known that Jack was hopelessly romantic and just a little bit sappy, then a thought occurred to him however and he frowned.

"Wait a minute... are you telling me that after all this time I had to listen to you butcher and sing badly various classics over the years that you actually *can* sing?"

 

Riley and Bozer snorted at the heartfelt betrayal in Mac's voice and the sheepish expression on Jack's face.

"Well I might have downplayed my ability to sing in recent years but don't you go thinking I'm some kind of master singer... far from it, I can carry a tune when I want to, however..."

 

"Then why?" Mac all but whined, punching Jack in the shoulder.

 

"Because I usually use what I 'sing' to rile you up, alleviate tension or get you out of your head to refocus on the mission at hand. If I would have thought a mostly properly sung song would have had the same effect, I would have done that but... well..." the older defended himself.

 

"But it most likely wouldn't have because I tend to tune out what doesn't immediately grate on my nerves, alright... I get it, sorry..." Mac nodded in understanding then.

 

Jack nodded at that, waved at the waitress at the same time for the check. He actually had sung for Mac properly a handful of times over the years but Mac probably couldn't remember that since it usually happened in circumstances Jack didn't like to remember himself, when Mac got hurt so bad all Jack could do was making sure his partner didn't bleed out before help arrived and stayed calm while they waited. Mac likely was only semi conscious those times or out of his mind with pain that his big brain blocked out the memory of it all including Jack singing to him. He wasn't about to remind the kid of those times just to prove a point though.

 

"Who would have thought that I would learn so much about my friends on this road trip!" Bozer grinned.

 

"Well that's the beauty of road trips!" Jack said. "So how about we all go to the bathroom once more after I pay for the food and then hit the road again, we still have quite a bit of distance ahead of us.

 

~*~

 

That memory filled stop at the diner somewhat broke the grave mood that had lingered in the car due to the reason behind the trip. It had triggered a wave of stories shared between them, memories of recent times or going far back. Bozer told stories about Mac's shenanigans at school with Mac reminding his friend regularly that he never had tried to stop him however so whatever had happened had been on him just as much as on Mac.

 

Riley talked a little bit about her own childhood and school experience that hadn't been as fun as Mac and Bozer's sadly and Jack regalled them with quite a few elaborate stories of his own, mostly of his family back in Texas but also a couple of the funnier things that had happened in the Sandbox on their time off after he had met Mac.

 

Just like that, with short breaks for gas, food or the bathroom and a overnight stay in a roadside motel they reached Springfield, Virginia with enough time to spare to get settled in their accomodation, take a nap and a shower before they finally got ready for the funeral.

 

Riley had grown more and more silent the closer they got to the 'Shady Oaks Retirement Community' where Alexander Orlov had lived. She had gotten in contact with the home at some point during their journey and informed them about their attendance of the funeral. The cemetary where the old man would be laid to rest was actually close by so they would be able to leave their car there, attend the funeral and afterwards go in so Riley could collect whatever it was the old man had left for her there.

 

It was a very small ceremony only, a few of Orlov's fellow housemates, a handful of the nurses and Riley with her family. Orlov had a family back in Russia, they all knew that but after his defection in 1971 there never had been any contact, as far as they knew Alexander Orlov had died a long, long time ago.

 

Jack had put a comforting arm around Riley as she sniffled softly with Mac close by on her other side, spending silent support. Bozer stood next to Mac on his other side and even though Bozer never even met the old man, he had tears shining in his eyes through it all, giving Mac a watery, lopsided smile when the blond laid a comforting hand on his back. Bozer was such a compassionate person that Riley's sadness at the loss was enough to make him feel sad as well. (There was a reason Bozer always was the first to cry during any movie they were watching.)

 

Afterwards when they were inside the head nurse came up to Riley with a big box.

"Ms Davis, I'm sorry that we meet again under such sad circumstances. Mr. Orlov talked a lot about you, he was quite proud of you I think. In the end, I think he knew his time would come soon, he left this box for you. I also was with him when he made his will, I'm sure you know that he didn't have all that much but he made sure that what he had would be in good hands. The box for one and secondly financially. He made sure that everything was arranged and paid for before he died and what was left, he left to you as well. There still are a few things to take care of but then the solicitor will get in touch with you. I just wanted you to know beforehand. Thank you, Ms Davis. I know you've made Mr. Orlov very happy to the day he left, not all of our residents are that lucky."

 

Riley didn't know what to say to that, just thanked the older woman and took the box with a nod and a teary smile.

 

The three men had stayed back a little but Jack was quick to take the box out of Riley's hands while Bozer pulled her close, holding her gently while they walked back to the car.

 

"This box is quite heavy, any idea what he could have left you?" Jack finally asked as he pushed the box in the trunk.

 

The hacker shook her head.

"Nope. Only one way to find out I guess..." she reached out with slightly trembling fingers.

 

Mac intercepted her quickly, holding her hands gently.

"You don't have to do this now, if you want to do this on your own that's perfectly alright." he wanted to make sure that Riley didn't feel like she had to just because they all were curious.

 

She smiled at the blond.

"I know, thanks but I'm kind of curious as well... plus, depending on what's inside there, it might be good to have my family with me." she added softly, pulled her hands free and lifted the lid off the box.

 

Inside were a couple of pictures, recent ones of Orlov, the framed one of him and Victor they all had first seen at a safe house in Moscow. Some notes and diagrams Riley remembered seeing when they first picked him up for this fateful mission. And notebooks, a lot of them.

 

She picked one up, thumbing through the book slowly. It did take a moment for her to realise what she was seeing but then she gasped softly, a choked huff of laughter leaving her lips.

 

"What? What is it?" Bozer asked, putting aside the pictures he had been looking at.

 

"His notes, all of them about all these secret programs back in the day, his ground work for the programming languages he created, the actually used ones but also bits and pieces of things he had been designing before he defected and then took with him. We talked about all this a couple of times, I asked him if he could teach me some of it maybe, you know in case we come across something like this again but he always said no. _'You don't need to know about this stuff, let other people take care of that, stay away, stay safe._ ' is what he always told me when I asked and at some point I just gave up. And now he's giving me everything he has, some of that with annotations that definitely look new." Riley explained slightly choked but obviously in awe of what she was holding in her hands.

 

"I knew I liked the man for a reason, he wanted you to be safe as well." Jack smiled.

 

"I guess, he wanted to keep you safe, true but in the end he knew knowledge can make all the difference plus if all this..." Mac pointed at the box, "...is in your possession, it definitely won't get into the wrong hands. He was smart to the end."

 

"You bet, Mac. There definitely is potentially dangerous information in these books and I will make sure it doesn't get out." Riley said, carefully repacking the things she pulled out of the box and closing it again. She would take a closer look at it when they were home again.

 

They had decided to stay the night and start their drive back in the morning again.

"How about we go for a drink? In memory of Alexander?" she proposed.

 

~*~

 

They had found a pretty small bar that sold actually decent vodka which they all thought appropriate for the occasion. Only the fact that Jack and Mac had kept in mind that they had a long drive home ahead of them the next day, had kept them from overindulging.

 

They had finished with breakfast and packing the car when Jack's phone went off.

 

"Why don't you go get settled inside already, while I take this real quick and then we're off..." Jack said, stepping away from the car with a grin.

He waited another moment for the three younger ones to nod before he accepted the call from an old friend.

 

"Dalton?"

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah I know this does end a little abrupt but there is a reason for the madness.  
> I have plans for another story that's connected to this one but only time wise not necessarily plot wise. Both parts are meant to stand alone in the end though. Does that make sense? I don't know.


End file.
